Generally, a memory card is used as an external element, to expand a storage space in a variety of equipment, such as a mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), digital camera, and the like. On the basis of a size and standard thereof, the memory card has been introduced into a variety of forms, such as a secure digital (SD) memory card, multimedia card (MMC), compact flash (CF), memory stick, and the like. In addition, a subscriber identification module (SIM) card serves to store, for example, personal financial payment information, and is utilized as a non-contact type electronic credit card, traffic card, pre-paid card, and the like.
Nowadays, the utilization of the SIM card is gradually increasing, for example, for various functions of mobile phones. In particular, functionality of mobile phones is increasingly diversified. Mobile phones can be used, for example, as payment methods when a credit card is received in a phone body, as well as a player of music and moving images. However, most conventional mobile phones have been mainly fabricated in such a way that a memory card is incorporated therein to achieve a video-on-demand (VOD) or moving picture experts group layer—3 Audio (MP3) player function. This fabrication has a problem of low utilization efficiency of the memory card because it is incorporated within the memory phone and prevents users from being able to expand memory capacity of the mobile phone.
An external memory card has been introduced to solve the above-described problem, and a multiplicity of technologies for mounting the memory card in a mobile phone, together with a SIM card, have been developed. As shown in FIGS. 7-8, a conventional mounting socket for a memory card and a SIM card S includes a socket body 100, an upper housing 200 to cover the socket body 100 so as to define a space with an upper surface of the socket body 100 for insertion of the SIM card S, a lower plate 300 coupled to the socket body 100 so as to define a space with a lower surface of the socket body 100 for insertion of a memory card, and a sensing switch unit 400 provided on the upper surface of the socket body 100 to sense insertion of the SIM card S.
The socket body 100 includes a SIM card insertion recess 102 defined in the upper surface thereof for insertion of the SIM card S, SIM card connecting terminals 101 exposed from a bottom surface of the insertion recess 102, a memory card insertion recess 104 defined in the lower surface thereof for insertion of the memory card, and memory card connecting terminals 103 exposed from a bottom surface of the insertion recess 104.
The sensing switch unit 400 includes a sensing terminal 401 formed at the upper surface of the socket body 100 in the insertion recess 102, and a switch 402 formed at a position corresponding to a distal end of the sensing terminal 401 so as to be exposed from the upper surface of the socket body 100.
As the SIM card S is inserted into the SIM card insertion recess 102, the distal end of the sensing terminal 401 is bent downward by the SIM card S to thereby be brought into contact with an upper surface of the switch 402. In this way, the sensing switch unit 400 can sense insertion of the SIM card S.
However, the above-described prior art has the following problems. Fabrication and installation of the sensing switch unit 400, provided in the mounting socket to sense insertion of the SIM card S, is difficult due to a complicated configuration thereof. Further, installation of the sensing switch unit 400 requires a separate assembly process, complicating the overall assembly of the mounting socket.